Woburn, MA – September 30, 2013 –According to a recent survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International in the summer of 2013, over 50 percent of Android-based smartphone and tablet owners do not use any security software to protect their devices against cyber-threats. This is in despite of the well-documented notion that Android has long been the most popular platform purchased by consumers and used by cybercriminals to steal from them.
Even though a high number of participants said they do not use security protection on their mobile devices, the results showed that 40 percent of smartphone and 42 percent of Android tablet owners participating in the survey stated that they have installed a security solution on their devices and are now using it.
These results highlight the consumer way of thinking at a time when Android is well-established as the top target for cybercriminals among all mobile platforms. According to Kaspersky Lab research, 99 percent of current malware samples targeting mobile devices have been developed for the Android platform. This threat is also growing: in 2012 Kaspersky Lab specialists detected 35,000 malicious samples, while in just the first half of 2013 the amount detected was over 47,000.
There is also the risk of devices being lost or stolen. For many people, smartphones and tablets are the main place of storage for photos and videos, correspondence with friends and family, passwords and other valuable information. It is all too easy for a device to be misplaced or stolen from a person and have all that personal information fall into the wrong hands.
Fixing Android Security Problems
In order to protect users of Android-based devices, Kaspersky Lab developed Kaspersky Internet Security for Android, an advanced solution to safeguard smartphones and tablets running Android. The solution uses the latest antivirus technologies and delivers real-time updates via the cloud-based Kaspersky Security Network for fast reaction to new and emerging threats. It can detect and block dangerous and malicious websites, including fraudulent and phishing websites that aim to steal a person’s identity or finances.
If a mobile device is lost or stolen, Kaspersky Internet Security for Android has a number of features that help minimize the risk of valuable, personal information being lost along with the device itself. Features that can locate the device with GPS, Wi-Fi and Google Maps, remotely wipe all personal information from the device, and even secretly take a “mugshot” of the thief by activating the front-facing camera on the phone.
The premium and free version of Kaspersky Internet Security for Android are available as separate product on Kaspersky Lab’s official site as well as at Android Apps on Google Play. In addition it is included in Kaspersky Internet Security – Multi-Device, a new security solution that provides premium protection for multiple devices, all through a single purchase and single license.
About Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is the world’s largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world’s top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 15-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.
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Media Contact
Sarah Bergeron
781.503.2615
sarah.bergeron@kaspersky.com
* The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2011. The rating was published in the IDC report "Worldwide Endpoint Security 2012–2016 Forecast and 2011 Vendor Shares (IDC #235930, July 2012). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2011.
